A NEW parish councillor has taken a swipe at colleagues before even attending his first meeting. Mr Nigel Roberts, who was was co-opted onto Benson Parish Council after a vote, says that some members treat meetings as "an evening out" and take too long to decide on anything. Mr Roberts, 39, a self-employed builder of Sunnyside, Benson, said: "The council needs someone to gee them all up. Decisions need to be made a lot more quickly. I want to see it changed - for a lot of them, a parish council meeting is an evening out." Mr Roberts, who is married with two children, was particularly angry at the time it had taken the council to sort out a planned half-pipe for skateboarders in the village. "We have been waiting too long. It should be up and running by now," he said. Mr Roberts, who is also a member of the Benson Community Association, was co-opted onto the council last week and his first meeting will be on Thursday.

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